It All Started With You
by dontmissthis
Summary: Snapshots into Maura's and Jane's married lives years down the road. Filled with babies, first dates, and the wayward argument. Mainly fluff.
1. First Dates

**A/N: I swear my brain never stops. **

**One shot. **

…

Jane reaches out, straightening the collar of his new pale yellow button down that he had bought just for this occasion. It contrasts with his tan skin perfectly and brings out the golds in his light eyes. She brushes back some of the sandy brown hair out of his face and smiles. He is stunning.

Absolutely stunning.

Now standing almost as tall as she, she only has to reach straight out to put her hands on his shoulders. She lightly squeezes before running her hands down his arms. "Remind me what you're going to do."

He lightly blushes under her strong scrutiny and clears his throat. "I'm going to hold the door for Morgan everywhere we go."

Jane smiles a little more. His voice has gotten so deep. She can't believe he's this old. "Good. What else?"

He looks over to Maura for help, but she only raises an expectant eyebrow kindly. He shifts, foot to foot as he looks back to Jane. "I'm going to tell her she looks nice as soon as I see her. And maybe even a few more times while we're out."

Jane laughs and crosses her arms as she leans back against the counter next to Maura. She's taught him well. "And you're also—"

"I'm also going to pay for her, no matter how many times she tells me not to."

"What if—"

"If she really doesn't want me to, I'll tell her she can get the next one. That way I can show her I care and she can still have her independence."

Maura smiles at that, heel clicking against the floor as she uncrosses her legs and pushes up from the counter. She looks between his blushing face and Jane's proud smile. They had definitely raised him well. "I think he may be ready."

"I think so too," Jane nods, holding out some money to him. They had said he couldn't date until he could get a job and make the money himself, but he had wanted this for so long that she just had to cave.

"Thank you," he takes it with a shaky hand and slips it in the leather wallet that Maura had bought him for Christmas.

It was his favorite gift. _Anything_ from Maura was his favorite gift. It wasn't that he didn't care for Jane as much, it was only that he had a deep love of knowledge and science; he loved figuring out as much as he could about everything he could. He was able to share that interest with Maura on a daily basis as they cooked together, discussed scientific theories as he did his homework, and even discussed the logistics of football. And because of that, he valued every single thing she said. He was popular, athletic, already striving to be class valedictorian in a few years. But no one managed to understand him the way his mother did.

And Jane can see that in Maura too. Yes, Jane and Maura click in every single sense of the word. It's an equal give and take—where Maura falters, Jane steps in and redeems her; when Jane drops to her lowest after weeks and weeks of hard work as the lieutenant, Maura's always there to pick her up. They're like puzzle pieces, fitting together in the most perfect sense of the word.

But she knows Blake gets Maura in ways that she doesn't. He brings out a side in her that Jane just can't. She's smart, but she didn't go to college; she can't sprout off the laws of thermodynamics off the top of her head. But Blake can and Maura cherishes it and him more than anything. It's no lie when she calls him one of her better friends.

The doorbell rings and his eyes widen slightly. Panicking, he looks between Maura and Jane for assistance. Jane laughs. That's the same look she had when Maura rang _her_ doorbell all those years ago.

"You'll be fine," she says as she claps him on the shoulder. "Now scram before your Mom gets technical starts describing the ways to make out."

His cheeks grow a darker red and he all but jogs to the door.

Maura laughs, lightly pinching her arm. "Jane, I would _not_ have done that."

Jane knows better. Instead of replying, she looks around the wall to where Blake and his date are standing. She's slightly shorter than him with black hair and light eyes. She looks nice enough. Jane only hopes she treats her son like she knows he deserves to be treated.

She smiles as she hears him say, "You look beautiful," to his date as he shuts the door. They definitely raised him right.

Standing back up, she turns to face Maura and takes one of her hands. They're both older now, but no one would ever be able to tell it by looking at those hands. Or any of Maura for that matter. She'd aged just as gracefully as everything else she does.

"You sure fourteen isn't too young?"

Maura lightly laughs, lacing their fingers together as she tugs Jane to the couch. "No. I think he's old enough to decipher good from bad. He can handle this."

Jane sits on the couch, loving the way Maura sits just as close as she always had. Time would never be able to change some things. "You sure we shouldn't have driven them though?"

"The bus is fine. I respect his wish for privacy."

It sounds like Maura is trying to convince herself just as much as she's trying to convince Jane. She scoffs, raising an eyebrow. "Really?"

Nodding, Maura bites her lip. "I respect his _wish_ for it, yes."

Jane knew Maura wasn't as sure as she liked to seem. "But you don't want to give it to him, do you?"

"Not particularly, no."

Jane's eyes immediately light up. "Do you want to follow him? I know which movie they're going to."

"Jane!" Maura gasps in faux shock, like it's the worst idea she's ever heard. But her lips turn up to the smallest smile, giving her away. "He's old enough to know how to behave himself, remember?"

"He also knows how to _misbehave_ himself. And I don't know about you, but I don't feel old enough to be a grandmother yet."

Maura blanches. She certainly hadn't thought of it like that. "Blake is a good boy. He wouldn't do that."

Jane raises an eyebrow.

Maura's brow furrows. "He would at least be safe about it?"

The fact that Maura asked instead of stated is enough for Jane. "Nope," she stands, pulling Maura to her feet. "Let's go."

They wait until the movie has started before trying to walk in. It'd be horrible to blow their cover first thing. Going through the upper entrance of the theatre—praying that he is sitting in a lower row so he won't see them—they sit at the very top.

Maura scans the room until she finally sees them halfway down, quietly whispering through the previews. She points to them and Jane grins, pulling out some M&Ms. "You think they know we're here?"

"Most likely not," Maura whispers as she takes some of the candies from Jane. She bites into one and her eyebrows shoot up. "You don't like the peanut kind."

Jane smiles, lightly squeezing her wife's thigh. "Yeah, but they're _your_ favorite kind."

An endearing smile works its way across Maura's face. How she got so lucky to be with Jane all these years, she'll never know. Her hand cups Jane's cheek, pulling her closer. Their lips brush and it's familiar and yet, somehow just as exhilarating as the very first time. She slowly pulls back, relishing the feel of their lips parting. "I love you so much."

"I love you more," Jane rasps as she pulls her back in for another kiss.

This one is slow, appreciative. Like they hadn't only done this and so much more the night before. Jane would be a little uncomfortable—still not one for any public displays—if they weren't some of the only ones in the darkened theatre.

Maura pushes the armrest up and out of the way so she can scoot closer. After a while, the taste and smell of Maura is too much and Jane's hand starts slowly ascending up her ribs. Maura gently pulls back with a smile.

She wouldn't have really minded going a _little_ bit further—she's always liked the thrill of potentially getting caught—but Jane would've been mortified. There's nothing she could ever want enough to put Jane in that position. They'd just have to wait a little longer to do anything else.

"Tonight?"

Maura's hopeful smile is enough to make Jane quietly laugh. "Definitely tonight."

She slides under Jane's arm, resting against Jane's chest. As she watches the oddly inaccurate movie—which she's sure Blake would agree—she listens to the drumming of Jane's heart under her ear, smells the perfectly family scent of Jane; the smell of home. She wouldn't change one second of her life if it meant she wouldn't ultimately end up here.

Jane glances down and watches as Blake slowly slides his arm over the back of his Morgan's seat. She does a silent victory fist pump by her side. "That's my man."

Maura laughs, shaking her head against her wife. "You do realize this means he's getting a girlfriend before either of us did, don't you?"

"And you realize you're not helping me cope with this, don't you?"

She laughs again, hand rising to rest on Jane's stomach. She'll never get tired of Jane's fast comebacks. Sure, in the beginning they had confused her; caused her to try twice as hard to understand and fit in. But after years and years of being with Jane and that oddly perfect personality, she doesn't even have to think twice to figure out when Jane is joking.

Jane's fingers play with the ends of her hair. How Maura had managed to escape having even one single gray hair yet was beyond her; she had to pull out six or seven a week. Jane inhales, breathing in the scent that has barely changed in the eighteen years they had been together. She loves her wife so much; she can't even start to think about what would happen if she lost her. She really does need to show Maura how much she means to her more often.

"How long has it been since we've done this? Gone out, just you and me?"

Maura shrugs, face tilting up to look at her. "I'm honestly not certain."

Jane sighs. When had they become_ that _couple? She's definitely going to change that.

"I love just being with you at home and doing nothing together…but I want to show you off a little more, alright? Once a month, just us going somewhere. Sound good?"

Maura smiles _that_ smile—the one she's reserved only for Jane all these years—and gives Jane's side a gentle squeeze. "It sounds perfect."

Jane glances down to Blake, who is barely inching his arm down to rest on his Morgan's shoulder, and then shifts to stand. "C'mon. Let's go."

Confused, Maura's eyebrow furrows. "Blake?"

"He's a smart boy, right?" Maura nods. "Alright, then. He'll be fine."

The walk out into the cool breeze of the summer night, hand in hand like always. The click of Maura's heels against the pavement is something that Jane has grown so accustomed to over the years that it rarely even registers with her anymore.

She pulls Maura closer as they, eliciting a light airy laugh. God, she loves that sound. She grins, leaning down to kiss her wife's temple. "Ice cream?"

"What do you think?" Maura's eyes are shining, playful. Jane loves this mood.

She scrunches her nose, pretending to contemplate. "I think yes."

Maura grins, pulling them to the left towards their favorite ice cream shop. "Your assumption is correct."

They walk in and stare at the different types that are offered. Jane doesn't know why they do that, they always end up getting their usual: Maura with butter pecan and she with plain chocolate. And halfway through, they always switch and finish each other's off. They've done it for so long—perfected it—that they automatically know when to trade without even saying a word.

It amazes Jane how they have been together so long—how everything is so utterly familiar between them—but everything still feels new and fresh and exhilarating. She never thought she would get this lucky.

By the time they finally stop talking and realize what time it is, the movie has been over for almost half an hour. They never planned on staying out later than Blake, so they scramble back to the car—nearly laughing the entire way.

When they get back, Blake and Morgan are on the couch watching something that looks suspiciously like a documentary on jellyfish.

It looks innocent.

And Jane is always skeptical of innocent.

She wants to go upstairs and check his room for signs of anything fishy. But he makes his bed with absolute precision, just like Maura. Plus, even if they _had_ done anything there, he'd be smart enough to make sure it looked completely. It'd be of no use going check it.

Or they could've just stayed on the couch.

She scrunches her nose.

She loves that couch.

Maura walks upstairs to change into her pajamas and Jane stays in the kitchen, waiting. It's only a few more minutes until Morgan leaves and Blake takes the hint to join her. He crookedly grins as soon as he walks in. He knows what Jane's face means, he's seen it too many times.

He tries not to laugh as he takes a bottle of water from the refrigerator. "Relax, Ma. I'm sure we did a lot less than you and Mom did in the back of the theatre."

She gasps, stunned disbelief all over her face. Surely that's just a lucky guess. "What theatre?"

"Mom does a better job of playing dumb than you do and she can't lie," he says, fully smiling now. "But I saw you and it was gross. Aren't there laws against cops doing stuff like that in public?"

She scowls. "We didn't do anything. And you better not be lying to me."

He almost laughs at the faux authoritative voice. He knows when she's in a bad mood and one where it's okay to mess with her. This is definitely the latter. He leans back on the counter, face dropping to mock seriousness. "Yes, Ma. I want to be a fourteen year old father who has to ask his moms for money because he's too young to work. Sounds fantastic."

She has to bite her lip to keep from laughing. With sarcasm like that, there's no denying that he definitely _is_ her son. Her face softens to a smile and she leans back on the counter across from him. "Did you at least have fun?"

He's face turns a little pink and he grins, nodding slightly. "Yeah. I really like her."

That's all she really cares about. "Good. I want to meet her sometime."

His eyes get wide in horrified terror. "You're not going to show her your gun or anything are you?"

She shrugs "I might."

"Ma," he whines, almost exactly the same as she had done at that age.

She can't help but laugh. "I'm kidding. I just want to meet her."

He hesitantly narrows his eyes. "And Mom, too?"

"Of course."

He tries to hide his smirk. "Good. She balances out some of your crazy."

Yep, he's definitely her son. She gaps, arm flailing out towards him. "I'm not crazy!"

"Keep telling yourself that, Ma."

She leans up, lightly pinching his arm. "See if I give you money again."

He all but sticks his tongue out at her. "Mom would," he teases.

Jane looks up to watch Maura walk up beside him and winks. "Not if your mother said no, I wouldn't."

Jane laughs, and his face turns red as he realizes he was just caught red handed. "And I thought I was your favorite," he grumbles under his breath.

Jane laughs, walking over to tousle his hair. "Nice try, short stuff. Maybe next time."

He shrugs away from her hand. "I'm not short!"

Hmm… at 5'8 maybe it _was_ time for a new nickname. She rolls her eyes and points over her shoulder to the stairs with her thumb. "Yeah, yeah. Go call your girlfriend or something."

"She's not my girlfriend," he calls over his shoulder as he walks to the steps. "Yet."

He had gotten Maura's confidence, that's for sure. She watches him walk up the steps and disappear down the hall before she rests her hands on Maura's hips, pulling her in for a quick kiss. She pulls back, foreheads resting lightly together. "I love you."

"I love you back," Maura whispers before licking her lips. She glances from Jane's eyes to her lips and back up. "Bedroom?"

Jane grins, fingers lightly squeezing Maura's waist. "Bedroom," she affirms as she pulls back, lacing their hands together to walk upstairs.

…

…

**So this 'verse is a guilty pleasure of mine. There may be chapters that are added later on because I write snippets of this family when I get writer's block. **

**I hope you liked reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Feel free to let me know what you think. Thank you for reading!**


	2. Another?

"Mommy, what's that?"

"Hmm?" Maura distractedly hums as she bounces her four year old on her knees while she tries to finish the last report of the day.

There's clanking and a large squeak, and then the statue is right in front of her—followed by deep scratches on her desk from the item being pulled across the top of it.

She barely resists the urge to sigh. "Blake," she chastises. "You know better than to drag things like that."

He looks up at her with wide, innocent eyes. Eyes that—despite the light color that resembles her own—look exactly like Jane's when she knows she's in trouble.

"But it was heavy," he pouts with his lip barely starting to roll out. "I just wanted to see."

At the slight curl of his mouth, her heart clenches. She honestly can't blame him for being impatient this late in the day. He _had_ been here for nearly three hours and the BPD wasn't exactly toddler-friendly.

She moves her hands from the keyboard and wraps one around his narrow stomach and uses the other to trace the outline of the statue. "It's an ancient Egyptian Ushabtis."

He chews on the edge of his fingernail—a habit she had yet to break—as he contemplates the slightly green stone it was made of. "What's it do?"

She smiles down at him. He always was so curious, and she loved to teach him as many wonders that she could. "Well," she starts, "It doesn't do anything, per say, but these burial figures were left in the Egyptian tombs to serve as servants in the afterlife."

"Why?"

Her mouth slightly opens and closes. "Well…it's what they believed in."

His head tilts. "Will I have one in my tump?"

She laughs. "Tomb. And you probably won't have a tomb, but if you do…I suppose you could if that's what you wanted."

"Okay," he finally says with a nod. His pudgy, slightly sticky hand works his way into one of hers and he leans back against her chest. "I'm tired, Mommy."

Giving him a gentle squeeze, she rests her cheek on the top of his golden hair. "I know. We can go home as soon as your Mama is ready."

He looks up with a near panic-stricken expression. "But Mama said we could eat Mutts tonight!"

Her eyebrows furrow in confusion. "Dare I ask?"

"Mama said we—"

"I know what she said," she replies, knowing he's just going to repeat himself. "I'm just not sure I know what that means."

He holds his hands together in the shape of an elongated bowl. "It's a doggie. With bread. We get them after the ballgame."

Her eyebrow arches. "A hotdog?"

He grins. "Yep. A hotdog."

"You guys ready?"

Maura and Blake look up to see Jane—in her usual black slacks and white button down with sleeves rolled to the elbows—leaning in the doorway. Maura grins at her wife despite herself. "Blake was just telling me what we are apparently having for dinner tonight."

"With ice cream!" Blake pipes up with a mischievous glint in his eye.

Jane playfully points to him, trying to hide her grin. "Hey, I never promised that."

"Can't be much worse than hotdogs for dinner," Maura retorts with a head tilt.

Jane bashfully shrugs. "You know how he is! All doe-eyes and pouty lips. I can't say no."

He giggles and Maura clicks her tongue. "You could if you tried."

Jane scoffs. "Don't even pretend that you didn't take him to the zoo last week even though he got in trouble at preschool."

Maura's eyes instantly widen, and Blake looks between them in amusement.

Jane smirks. "Ma told me. So apparently you didn't try very hard either."

Maura's lip rolls out—much like the look their son often gave. "But that was the only day the Sitatunga was going to be there, and you know how much he likes that."

Smiling to herself, Jane shakes her head. "We really are pushovers."

"_You're_ a pushover," Maura corrects. "I just do things for our son's happiness."

Jane laughs. "Call it whatever you want, babe, but we're still having hotdogs and ice cream for dinner, aren't we?"

* * *

Jane sets a Spike Dog in front of Maura that's covered in honey mustard and Swiss. "A T-Bird for you, and—" Jane sets one down dressed in only ketchup down in front of Blake, "—a Mutt for you, kiddo. Just how you like it."

Maura's eyes widen as she looks between Jane's food—a hotdog covered in more things than she can list—and her own. "Oh, Jane. This looks very…unhealthy."

Jane shrugs. "But it's very fu—freakin' good."

Maura's eyebrow quips and Jane laughs. "Trust me."

As she sits down, Jane looks over just in time to see Blake trying to shove half of his food in his mouth at once. "Whoa, little man. You know we have to cut it."

He groans. "But Mamaa, I'm a big boy now."

"And this is a big hotdog, man," Jane replies, but he still doesn't perk up. She groans in faux agitation. "Do I have to cut mine too?"

He grins, happy to do things just like his Mama. "Yeah!"

Jane sighs—hiding a smile—as she picks up the plastic knife. "The things I do for you, kid."

Maura watches on as Jane cuts up their food. It never ceases to amaze her how great Jane is with their son. Playful, yet responsible. Fun, yet as much of a mother to him as she was his friend. She truly was so good at this. They were good at this. _Together._ Much better than either of them had expected.

Even if he did get in trouble for singing during preschool lessons sometimes.

She finally faces her fears. Grease tinges her fingertips as she picks it up—Jane took the fork away from her—and she grimaces, but as soon as she takes a bite, she is stunned beyond belief.

"Oh my goodness," she exclaims with surprised eyes. "Why have I never been here before?"

Jane's eyes light up in the _I told you so_ kind of way she often uses. "Good isn't it?'

She nods. "It's fantastic! Unbelievable."

By the time they finish, Blake is laying on Jane's lap fast asleep with ketchup on the corners of his mouth. Smiling down at him, Jane rumples up his sandy-colored hair. "He looks just like you sometimes."

Maura grins. "But he acts just like _you_."

Jane softly grunts her disagreement. While he did enjoy baseball and giving a Rizzoli-worthy whine about what he doesn't like, they both know he'd rather be curled up next to Maura's side as she reads him a book or watch a show on Animal Planet together. And Jane's glad. After all the worrying and fretting Maura had done about being scared of _not being enough for him_, she's exactly what he needs. Jane really wouldn't have it any other way.

She continues to look down at him as she awkwardly clears her throat. "Maybe we can, y'know…have another one. Before he gets any older or something."

There's a brief pause, and then Maura's eyes widen. "Another? As in another _child_?"

Jane manages to roll her eyes. "No, Maura. A hotdog."

"I'm just surprised, Jane," Maura replies. "It's not like we've discussed this before."

"I know. But I've been thinking and," she shrugs, "As much as we fought, it was good to grow up with Tommy and Frankie. I don't want Blake to grow up alone."

"But he won't grow up alone. There's TJ, and presc—"

"It's different, Maura," Jane interrupts, "And you know it. He only sees TJ every other holiday. He couldn't pick the kid out in a lineup if he tried."

Maura sighs before reaching across the table top and resting her hand on top of Jane's own. "I know. But after how difficult Blake was to deliver…I can't safely have any more children, Jane. And I know how you feel about carrying a child. So what do you suppose we do?"

Jane shrugs and looks back down. "I don't know. Take one of my things and pop it in some lady to carry around?"

Maura's brow furrows, and then her head tilts in confusion. Jane could be so difficult sometimes. "Are you referring to a surrogate?"

Jane nods. "Yeah. That."

"You do know you'll have to be given multiple shots of—"

Jane brushes her hand in the air. "We can talk details later. Just think about it, alright?"

"Of course," Maura replies with a grin and gentle squeeze to Jane's hand.

"And don't mention it to Ma, either," Jane adds, her eyes playfully narrowing. "She'd be over tomorrow with a list of baby names again."

Maura laughs. "I promise."

They stand to leave, and Jane picks up Blake so that his cheek is resting on her shoulder. He mumbles something in his sleep, and Maura looks over to Jane with a cocked brow. "Did he just ask for _pickle_ ice cream?"

Taking Maura's hand, Jane shrugs. "It's good."

Maura's nose scrunches. "I think I'll have to take your word on that. One new food item a day is enough for me."

"Yeah," Jane starts, "But you know if this little turd was awake he'd get you to try it."

"Jane, don't call our son a turd," Maura chastises in a scandalized whisper as she reaches up and lightly touches the end of his button nose. "He can't help how cute he is."

"And we apparently just can't help being pushovers," Jane replies, already planning to buy her son some pickle-flavored ice cream for when he wakes up.

"Yes," Maura grins. "And just imagine how bad we will be with two of them."


	3. Insecurities

**Disclaimer: I own nothing and forgot to put that on the first chapter. Oops. **

* * *

Their daughter bounds down the stairs with her black, loose curls bouncing with every step. Jane looks up from the coffee machine just in time to see her daughter tugging at her clothes in an attempt to cover up more of her exposed skin. Her eyebrows shoot up. "Where's the rest of her skirt?"

Maura glances up and shrugs. "She's just expressing herself."

Jane incredulously scoffs. "By rolling it up to barely cover her ass?"

Maura quickly frowns. "Would you be this distraught if it were Blake?"

"If his ass was hanging out of his skirt, yeah I'd be a little worried about it too," Jane dryly replies.

She tries not to smile as she chastises her wife. "Jane. That is _not _what I meant."

Vivian walks up to the kitchen island and starts drumming her fingers on the top of it. "Practice is over at four-thirty today. Pick me up?"

Jane raises an eyebrow without looking up from the newspaper. "Will you actually be wearing something decent?"

"I don't know," Viv slowly replies. "I think they said something about it being clothing optional today…"

"Alright smartass," Jane good-naturedly replies. Vivian was so incredibly like her sometimes it bordered on ridiculous. "I'll be there."

She starts to walk towards the door with the coffee Jane set out for her, but Maura raises a finger to stop her. "Did you eat? You know your brain works at its optim—"

"Mommmm," she complains with slumped shoulders. "It's Friday. We won't do anything."

Maura raises an eyebrow.

"Fine." Vivian huffs and jerks an apple off the counter. "Happy?"

"Perhaps if you had a better attitude, yes."

Jane tries not to laugh. Getting their daughter out the door in the morning was almost as hard as Maura trying to get _her_ out of the door in the morning.

The door slams, and Maura sighs as she wraps her arm around her wife's waist. "Only four more years."

Jane's eyes widen as she looks down at Maura. "Are you really counting down the days until we can kick our last kid out? I never expected that out of you, Maur. Me, maybe.."

She laughs. "I'm certainly not counting down the days until she leaves. I'm simply counting down the days until she's out of high school. She's as good with mornings as you are."

"Exactly what I was thinking," she replies. Leaning down, she kisses Maura's temple. "At least we're all better after coffee."

* * *

There's a loud bang as Vivian barrels through the front door. Her dark eyes are glistening, and her jaw is clinched in anger as she randomly points behind her. "He got into _Harvard_?"

Maura grimaces at the shrill pitch of her daughter's voice. She quickly stands from the couch, stepping towards Vivian as she straightens out her skirt.

"Yes. Blake received his acceptance…" She trails off as she finally sees Jane step through the door making a _don't make another sound_ motion with her hand.

She looks back to Vivian to see her dark eyes glistening with tears.

"What's wrong?" She asks, taking a step towards her daughter—hand outstretched to touch her cheek.

But Vivian shirks away and quickly jogs to the stairs. "Just leave me alone!"

Maura watches, mouth agape before turning back to her wife. "Care to inform me?"

Jane comes up to her side, and looks to the empty staircase and throws up one hand in the air. "After she found out about Blake, she wouldn't talk to me the rest of the way home."

"That's…disconcerting," Maura says, worrying at the edge of her bottom lip. "Maybe we should go talk to her?"

Jane shakes her head. "You know how she is. I'll go talk to her after dinner."

"Okay," she gives her wife' side a gentle squeeze. "I hope she's alright."

"She will be," Jane says with a tone that belies how concerned she really is.

After a tension-filled dinner with continuous glances at the empty chair at the table, Jane makes her way upstairs and taps on the door with her knuckles. "Viv?" She calls out as she simultaneously opens the door.

Vivian is leaning back against her head board with her arms crossed against her chest. "Why do you even knock if you're just going to open the door anyway?"

Jane attempts a smile. "Oh, you know. Just so any boys you have in here won't have time to escape."

It falls flat, and Vivian rolls her eyes. "That's great, Ma. It's good to know you trust me."

"I do trust you. I just don't trust _them_," Jane replies as she sits on the edge of the bed. Even though her daughter still refuses to look up at her, she gives her leg a gentle squeeze. "Wanna talk about it?"

After a long, silent pause, Vivian clenches her jaw and finally looks up to meet Jane's eyes. "Why didn't you have another kid? Too scared to get another screw up like me?"

Jane's brow furrows. "What? That's ridiculous. You know that's not true."

"He got into Harvard, Ma," Vivian shrugs. "I can barely get straight As."

Sighing, Jane's face softens. "Oh, babe, your grades are fine. Better than fine. You might not be getting straight As, but you're still doing good, right?"

"Yeah," she hesitantly nods.

"Well see?" Jane smiles. "I didn't."

Vivian reluctantly glances up. "Really?"

"No, not as good as you. Either of you," Jane assures. "And yeah, things like this come easier for Blake. There's no question. But you have to work for it. I know that sucks now. But when you make a good grade, doesn't it feel good to know you earned it?"

Vivian shrugs. "I guess."

"Was that all you were worried about?"

Vivian shakes her head. "I…It's complicated."

"You know you can tell me anything, Viv. I was your age once too," Jane replies with a small smile, hoping to lighten the mood.

But when Vivian looks up again, her dark eyes are watery and her voice trembles. "Don't you ever want to be closer to Blake? To be as close to him as he is to Mom?"

After a moment, Jane takes a deep breath. "Yes and no. I love spending time with him just like I love spending time with you. I'd love for him to come talk to me when he has a problem. But I can't help him as good as Maura can. She understands how his brain works better, y'know?" Her eyes scan her daughter's. "Do you want to spend more time with Blake? Is that it?"

Her face scrunches. "Ugh. Gross."

Jane's brow furrows. Being a Detective is something she's good at. Trying to figure out her teenage daughter is a completely different story. "Are you worried about him going away to college?"

She shakes her head and starts to pick at a loose thread on her bedspread. "No."

Jane almost groans. Was she this difficult at this age?

Something tells her Angela would say yes.

"Well what is it, Viv?"

Her arms cross as she looks to the corner of the room. Anywhere but her mother's concerned eyes. "I just…" She bites her lip to keep it from quivering. Her throat starts to burn and her eyes brim with tears. "Sometimes I think that maybe…maybe if I was smarter, Mom would want to do more with me too."

"Oh, babe," Jane whispers, before scooting over and pulling her daughter into a hug. She softly pats down unruly curls in the way that Vivian has loved since she was a baby. "You know she loves you. She loves you so much."

Vivian nods against her, and then slowly pulls back and wipes the corners of her eyes. "I do. I do know that. It's just hard knowing that they're so much alike. I feel like maybe…" she shrugs, "I don't know."

Jane lightly squeezes her knee. "Have you told her any of this?"

A horrified look flits across Vivian's face. "No!"

"Maybe you should. She'd love to do stuff with you, Viv. She just doesn't know if you'd want to go with her."

At that, she slightly perks up but tries to hide it. "Really?"

"Yeah," Jane nodes, grinning. "Just the other day she went over to Bullard's and called me. Said she wished you were there because she found a painting or something that you'd like." Jane pats her knee. "You just have to let her know that you want to do more with her, Viv. I guarantee she'll drag you to so many places, you'll have to beg her to stop."

"Thanks, Ma," she replies. "Do you think you could maybe tell her for me?"

Jane smiles. She used to be afraid of opening up and talking about feelings and emotions, too. They are so much alike that it almost hurts. "Of course. Sleep tight, alright? I love you and your Mom loves you. Don't ever second guess that."

"I won't," she quietly replies.

Jane walks downstairs to find Maura at the sink washing dishes and humming to herself. Her hair is in soft waves, and the dress she still wears accentuates the curves that even time hasn't taken a toll on. It's almost surprising to Jane how raising two children hadn't made Maura any less stunning.

But she's definitely not complaining.

She walks up behind her wife and wraps her arms around her slim waist.

Maura grins and gives her hands a gentle squeeze before returning to the dishes. "Did you straighten things out?"

"'Fraid not," Jane replies, moving to lean on the counter by the sink. "This one's all you."

"What do you mean?"

After realizing that there's really no good way to word this, Jane sighs. "She thinks you spend more time with Blake because he's smarter than she is."

A bowl slips from Maura's fingers into the sudsy water in the sink, and she looks up with a furrowed brow. "_What_?"

Jane shrugs. "I know. I told her that's not the case, but I think she needs to hear it from you."

Maura backs away from the sink—panic and sadness and…so much written on her face all at once that Jane's heart clenches in her chest.

"Is this my fault? I've always tried to never be anything less than supportive," her eyes start to glisten over. "I know what it's like to not be enough for your own parents and I've…I've done—"

"Hey, no," Jane quickly says. She soothingly runs her hands up and down Maura's arms. "Of course it isn't your fault. You're not anything like your parents were. It's just the age she's at. You remember how insecure you were at fourteen, don't you?"

Maura nods.

"That's all it is. She has to hear about Blake and college all the time. I think she's just worried about living up to all that," Jane says. She leans down and kisses Maura's temple. "And now that she's interested in skirts and going on dates and fixing her hair, I think she realizes how much I suck at that stuff."

Maura laughs. "Did she ask you how to put on makeup?"

Jane grins. "No, but she did ask me to take her shopping..."

"Oh, Jane." Maura smiles and leans up on her toes to kiss her. "No wonder she wants to spend more time with me."

"You don't give yourself enough credit, Maur," Jane replies, her face serious. "That's not the only reason she wants to be closer with you. You're a good mother. She loves you."

"Thank you," Maura replies, her face reflecting just how much that statement means to her.

Maura walks up to Vivian's room and lightly taps on the door. There's a grumble of a reply, so she pushes it open, none too surprised to see Vivian sitting straight up in bed with the lamp on—fully prepared for the intruder.

Maura smiles, taking a small step inside. "May I?"

Vivian looks at Maura warily and notes her mother's soft eyes. At least this wasn't going to be a reprimand. She nods, scooting over to one side of her bed. "Sure. "

Maura lies down on her back and Vivian scoots down to mirror her position. Silence falls around them as they look towards the ceiling, and Maura reaches over and takes her daughter's slim hand in her own. "I love you, Vivian."

She nods. "I know."

"And I am so proud of you."

"I know," she replies— already able to feel her throat constricting and her lip trembling.

Maura's eyes involuntarily start to water. "I'm sorry if I haven't shown you that."

"No, you have. I just…sometimes…" Vivian quickly rolls over, burying her face in Maura's side. She lets out a strand mumbles so incoherent that Maura doesn't even try to decipher them.

Maura shifts, rolling on to her side to pull her daughter in as she cries. She idly starts playing with the jet black curls in an attempt to calm her down. "Have I ever told you the story of your birth?"

Vivian shakes against her.

"Would you like me to?"

After a beat, Vivian nods.

Maura takes a deep breath, and a smile graces her face as she remembers that day so many years ago. "Jane and I spent months looking for the right surrogate. After we found her and the insemena—"

"—_Mom_," is the grossed out, muffled interruption.

"Sorry," Maura quietly apologizes. "After _that_, she would come over every day so Jane and I could talk you so you would recognize our voices. I made sure she ate everything she was supposed to…did everything she was supposed to. I wanted to do everything perfectly for you because even though I wasn't carrying you, you were still just as mine," she starts, still stroking Vivian's hair.

"And then she had you. All 7 pounds and 3 ounces. You were so…beautiful. There's not really another word for it. Your hair was just as black and thick and you refused to cry. They tried and tried but you wouldn't. Even back then you were brave and strong."

"Stubborn," Viv meekly interjects, and Maura grins.

"And stubborn," she nods. "But when I held you for the first time… _all_ I could do was cry. Even though Jane refuses to admit it, she cried too. Don't let her fool you. We cried because you were ours. You were our daughter and we loved you so incredibly much. And we still do. You're growing up to be a wonderful person; so charismatic and selfless and loving. I cherish every moment I spend with you. And I'm sorry if I haven't made that inexplicably clear," Maura says, and pauses as her throat starts to constrict. "I'm sorry if I have failed you."

"No, Mom," she assures, finally pulling away from her niche in Maura's side. "You haven't."

"I feel like I have," Maura says, her own voice trembling. "I should've tried harder. You're just always so content to do everything on a whim and you love everything that Jane enjoys. I thought you were happy with things as they were."

"I was. I just…" she shrugs.

"Want more?"

"Yeah."

Maura finally smiles and looks into eyes that look so much like Jane's. "Would you like to go somewhere after school tomorrow?"

Vivian doesn't even try to conceal the excitement written on her face. "Me and you?"

"Yes," Maura nods. "Just us."

"I'd like that," Vivian replies, grinning. Then her emotions get the best of her and she tucks her face back into Maura's side to shed a few more tears before finally calming and pulling back again. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too," Maura replies, wiping away the tears on her daughter's cheeks. "Do you want me to stay in here tonight?"

"No," Vivian almost reluctantly replies. "I'll be okay."

"Okay." Maura leans over and kisses her daughter's forehead before standing up. When she gets to the door, she turns back and looks at her daughter—her daughter that is desperately trying to grow up all too quickly, while still being her little girl. It tugs on her heart and makes her smile all at once. "Sleep well, baby."

When she walks into their bedroom, Jane is lying in the bed waiting for her in just a tshirt. Maura can't help but look at long legs that are just as firm and strong and tan as the day they met, despite how long it's been.

Jane catches the look in Maura's eyes and grins before rolling on her side as Maura crosses the room. "How'd it go?"

Maura stands in the closet door as she starts to pull off and hang her clothes. "I think it went well. We are going out tomorrow."

Jane's mouth drops. "_What_? She was supposed to go to the game with me tomorrow!"

Maura tries to hide her smile. She really does. Nothing quite gets Jane worked up like having to miss a game she had been planning on going to for months, and she was always cute when she sulked around the house about it.

"Damn," Jane dejectedly says. "Think I can drag Blake with me?"

Maura shakes her head and slips one of Jane's old tshirts over her head. "You know how much he hates them after he got hit by a foul ball on his birthday."

"It's been eight years!" Jane exclaims before crossing her arms with a huff. "I knew we shouldn't have sat so close."

"Closely," Maura corrects with an arched brow. "And no, you shouldn't have. I do believe I warned you about the dangers of that."

Jane groans. "Shut it, Maura."

"I can't help being right," Maura replies—grinning— as she crawls into her side of the bed.

"But you can help rubbing it in my face. Jerk." Jane smiles at Maura's laugh, then tightly wraps her arms around Maura from behind. She pulls Maura close enough to her to inhale the scent her wife's shampoo with every breath. It's a comfort that's helped her fall asleep for the past twenty-one years, and it's one she'll never tire of.

She gives Maura a gentle squeeze. "I love you."

"Not a jerk," Maura groggily replies as she rests her hand on Jane's own around her waist. "Love you too."


End file.
